E locrian
E natural minor with two notes lowered: F and B♭. Seven notes: E F G A B♭ C D. The same notes as F major, centred on E. Locrian is rarely used as a home key.
- Parent key
- F major Same notes
- Colour note
- F and B♭ The flat 2nd and 5th
- Repeating chords
- E° – F i° – ♭II
Across one chord in different positions. Down one place, every chord of the mode. | ||||
| i°VampE°E · G · B♭ | ||||
| ♭IIVampFF · A · C | ||||
| ♭iiiGmG · B♭ · D | ||||
| ivAmA · C · E | ||||
| ♭VB♭B♭ · D · F | ||||
| ♭VICC · E · G | ||||
| ♭viiDmD · F · A |
What makes it locrian
Natural minor, with the 2nd and 5th lowered
Two notes separate E locrian from E natural minor: F♯ becomes F and B becomes B♭. Over the same root, that turns Em – F♯° into E° – F.
- E
- F♯
- G
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- A
- B♭
- C
- D
Hear the difference
One chord that says locrian
Em7♭5 holds B♭, one of the mode's two colour notes. Play it to hear those notes together.
The brightness ladder
Seven modes on E
From brightest to darkest, each row lowers one note of the row above. Locrian is row 7 of seven.
↑ Brighter
- E lydianEF♯G♯A♯BC♯D♯♯4
- E ionian (major)EF♯G♯ABC♯D♯—
- E mixolydianEF♯G♯ABC♯D♭7
- E dorianEF♯GABC♯D♭3 ♭7
- E aeolian (natural minor)EF♯GABCD♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- E phrygianEFGABCD♭2 ♭3 ♭6 ♭7
- E locrianEFGAB♭CD♭2 ♭3 ♭5 ♭6 ♭7
Darker ↓
Jam along
Three drills over the vamp
Play over the repeating E° – F chords with a metronome. The neck highlights the notes to aim for, with F and B♭ ringed.
- The vamp, with a clickE° – F, two bars each, in frets 2–6. Strum on the beat.80 bpmLevel 1
- Scale over the vampUp the scale and back down, one note a beat, while E° – F sounds. Stay in frets 2–6.80 bpmLevel 1
- Land on the colour noteOver E°, aim for B♭; over F, aim for F. They are the notes that make it locrian.80 bpmLevel 2